The RFID boom is beginning to be felt in the acquisitions arena. In an effort to become a leader in RFID technology, Symbol Technologies has reached an agreement to acquire Matrics, a designer and manufacturer of EPC (electronic product code)-compliant RFID systems. The deal values privately held Matrics at $230 million.

"The acquisition of Matrics is a significant step in executing our plan to be a leader in RFID and expands our offerings in the advanced data capture industry," says William Nuti, Symbol's president and chief executive officer. "We believe that in order for RFID to be deployed successfully, it needs to be deployed as a system—a system that allows customers to capture, move and manage critical information to and from the point of business activity."

Symbol plans to incorporate the Matrics EPC-compliant RFID products into its portfolio of mobile computing, advanced data capture and wireless technologies.